Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

Phew!  I'm just glad we survived this weekend.  It was busy.

1.  If you come to our house, you MUST wear shoes!

We've got the wood floors about 1/3 removed.  It's hard work.  And all the furniture is moved around and we feel like a bomb went off in here.

2.  We were able to remove all the carpet yesterday.  There was a recycle day and we wanted to take part!  So we busted our butts to get all the carpet and pad removed yesterday and taken to the recycle location.  Check out the Trailblazer:

It was completely loaded to the top.  Thank goodness for the hubby. He loaded the whole vehicle by himself!  The carpet was so gross and dirty that it made sneeze for hours after I touched it.  So disgusting.  Shudder.

3.  #2 had a soccer tournament this weekend.  She played her first game on Friday night.  They ended up in a 3-3 tie.  It was such a fantastic game to watch!  The parents were cheering so loudly and the whole crowd was really into it - but in a good way.  Not in a yelling at the ref kind of way.  

Then yesterday she was supposed to play at 4pm but the game was moved to 3pm.  As we were waiting for the game to start, the lightening started.  And it got closer.  And closer.  We ended up sitting in the car for 20 minutes due to a lightening delay.  We finally gave up and went to the grocery store.  As we were walking to the car (finished shopping - thank goodness) we got a text message:  Game at 4:30.  I flew home, unloaded the groceries, and jumped in the car to go back to the fields.  Text message:  game cancelled.  Crazy, crazy afternoon.

So this morning she ended up playing two games.  One at 7:20am and the next at 8:45am.  Thank goodness for #1 because we were able to leave all the other kids at home sleeping when we headed for the soccer complex at 7am!  Unfortunately they lost both game this morning.  I can see the team making progress, but it isn't clicking just yet.  Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later.  

All in all, not a bad soccer weekend.  At least we didn't get struck by lightening and we managed to remain relatively dry.   

4.  Last Thursday I woke up and realized I had lost my voice.  I felt fine; though I couldn't really speak.  Friday was even worse.  It hurt to talk and I sounded like a two-pack-a-day 80 year old smoker.  Yesterday it was STILL gone!  I mean, what's up with that?!  On top of the lost voice, I also had a lost appetite.  Although it would be great to drop 5 pounds, I don't think it's wise to do so the week before my marathon.  My voice is on the mend but my appetite is not.  I'm hoping I wake up tomorrow a new woman.  (And five pounds lighter?)  Fingers crossed.

5.  I managed to bust out my big camera on #4 yesterday.  She had a hay day playing in the rain.  It was so darn cute.  It brought back memories of #1 and #2 when they were younger.

6.  #1 has been into dressing up this week!  She went to school in an 80's get-up on Monday, Tuesday was twin day (with one of her friends), Wednesday was career day (she dressed as a marine biologist), and Thursday was celeb day (she dressed as Missy Franklin).  Here's her '80s outfit:

On top of that, we picked out her Halloween costume today.  She's going as Katniss and I have to say, we done GOOD!  Seriously - Target really served us well today.  I took a picture but I'm going to wait to post it.  We have to put the final touches on the costume!

7.  BONUS:  We leave for Disney World in one week.  We're getting excited and I have to get packing.  I mean, I have to pack for five while the hubby only has to pack for one.  Where is the fairness in that?  Oh, that's right, it's not there!!  Ugh.

Anyway, that means I will be MIA next week.  Have a great two weeks!

Six on Sunday

Howdy!  I'm late in blogging tonight because I had to watch "The Good Wife" - season premier!  Such a good show.  It didn't disappoint.

I'm going to provide my update in terms of each family member tonight.  I think that's a different spin on the usual Six on Sunday.  So here goes...

1.  #4 was Sybil again this weekend.  I'm now sure it has to do with her giving up her naps on the weekends.  She really needs the sleep but when it takes two hours to get her down for 45 minutes it's just not worth it.  But by about 4:00 she's done.  She doesn't register anything that does not align with her thought process.  It makes for a long afternoon!

But on the other hand, she is so darn funny!  She picks out her own clothes and they're awesome.  She's in heaven now that she has a closet full of "new" clothes.  She loves to snuggle and gives these hugs with her whole body.  I just have to keep these thoughts in mind when she turns into Sybil.

2.  #3 had a soccer game yesterday morning at 8:30am.  It was COLD!  We're talking 41* outside with a slight north wind.  Unfortunately for me, I went with a wet head (from just finishing a run) and had to sport her hat.  Yeah, I looked gooooood.  She didn't manage to score a goal - probably because she wouldn't actually take her hands out of her pockets.  It's hard to run fast with your hands tied up!

After her soccer game we headed to our friend's house for a chili cook-off.  She had a blast playing with the other kids.  It's so nice that's outgoing enough to simply disappear.  We looked around and she was gone.  Off to play with friends she sees very sporadically.  But that didn't matter and I loved it.

3.  #2 has had a sore leg for the last couple of weeks.  We've pulled her out of soccer to give her leg a rest.  At first it sounded like shin splints but then she said the pain was on top of her ankle?  When asked to rate her pain from 1 to 10 she said it was a 9.  I told her that would probably mean she couldn't really walk.  She decided it was a 7.  Or maybe it was a 9?  She wasn't sure.  What it told me was that it wasn't serious.  At least not yet.  We're going to get her some new cleats tomorrow and have her resume practice this week.  I'm hoping it's better because if not, she'll be out of soccer the rest of the season which would be a major bummer.  It's hard to know what to do when you're living with drama.  24x7 drama.

In other news, #2 - with one of her besties - won a competition for a book cover.  How cool is that?  The class all voted for their favorite submission and theirs won.  So when their class publishes a book containing stories from each of the kids - the cover will be their drawing!  She was so proud when she told me the story.  Adorable.

4.  #1 had a soccer game this afternoon and her team WON!  You have no idea how exciting it was to see a check in the win column.  Her team is playing up a year and this is the first year they've played on the full size field.  So we weren't expecting a lot.  But man, they looked great!  They passed deliberately, they were aggressive, and they took shots.  It meant a lot to the parents to watch the girls win tonight.  So fun!

In other news, my baby is growing up.  Fast.  Friday night she went to Cougar Night (at her middle school) with two of her friends followed by a sleepover with those same friends.  (Tangent:  It's hard to say Cougar Night and keep a straight face because I imagine a middle school gym filled with single, middle-aged women hitting on 13 year olds.  Clearly I've got issues.)  It's so fun to drop them off and watch them get all giggly as they walk in together.  With their purses swinging.  

Today she and her friend rode their bikes - by themselves - to the Dollar Store and Target.  How crazy is that?!  I realize it's only half a mile away, but still...by themselves.  They bought socks for twin day this week.  Of course they had to plan their entire outfit.  I love that she is getting so involved in school and loving it.  She makes my job as a parent look easy - thank goodness because see #1 above!

5.  The hubby spent the day doing this:

He took off all the carpet on our stairs.  IT WAS SO DISGUSTING!  There was a layer of what looked like sand underneath.  It was so bad I've been coughing since I started the project Friday night.  (Hence, I was so thankful he took over!)  

Why are we removing the carpet?  Because we ordered our hardwoods on Friday afternoon!  Can I get a woot-woot?!  This has only been 10 years in the making.  We choose beautiful 3 3/4" dark bamboo.  The floors are seriously going to transform our entire house.  I can't wait.  We're hoping to get the demo done by the time we leave for Disney so they can be installed while we're gone.  Crossing my fingers.

6.  I've been busy - as usual.  I had 3 photo sessions this week.  Two senior guys and one family session.  I ran 12 (hilly) miles yesterday morning before #3's soccer game.  I removed all the baseboards in the front two rooms.  I also removed all the tack strips so we can just pull the carpet out.  I primed a dresser that is going in the little girls' room.  Evidence pre priming:

And the biggest project?  Switching out clothes for #2 - #4.  That is such a big mess!  I had to haul up all the bins from the basement with the new clothes and then haul the old clothes back down or to the Goodwill pile.  It took an entire weekend.  I'm just thankful it's done! Phew.

And there you have it.  Our week. I hope you all have a great week!
 
 

Photography News and Baby Addie

Before I get to the images of Baby Addie, I wanted to take a minute to chat about my business...  

It's HARD.  I absolutely love the art of photography and editing, but by the opposite token I absolutely detest the business side.  And let me tell you, the business side of photography takes up the majority of my time.  So I've made a decision that I've grappled with for a long time.  I'm closing my virtual door.  I'm letting my website go dormant and taking down my business email address.  (I'll have to change the post at the top of my blog.)  I'll still shoot friends and family, but I'm no longer going to try to make it my day job.

I am going to become a "shoot and burn" photographer.  I'll shoot and edit but then just hand over a CD or jump drive.  I won't print anymore which actually takes quite a bit of time.  Time that is precious.  And there you have it!  I feel good about this decision and I think my photograpy will become fun again!

Without further adieu...here's Baby Addie at 8 days old:

I have to tell you - I loved, loved, loved taking these pictures.  Baby Addie was just a doll and her mom and dad were pretty cool, too!  Congratulations, Todd and Stacey:)